Wisconsin People & Ideas – Winter Spring 2025 | wisconsinacademy.org
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Wisconsin People & Ideas – Winter Spring 2025

In this issue: We explore Wisconsin’s natural and creative abundance. Discover how Wausau became the “Napa Valley of American Ginseng” and learn about the revival of flax farming in Wisconsin. Meet Brenda Cárdenas, the new state poet laureate, whose multilingual work is rooted in place and memory. We also feature C.E. Perry’s prize-winning short story, highlight northern Wisconsin’s Climate Champions, and share a glimpse into the Washburn Observatory’s storied past. Additionally, you'll find a memoir about the first Earth Day in Madison, reading recommendations from the latest cohort of Academy Fellows, and a sneak peek at Appleton's new bookbar for science-fiction fans.

Volume: 
71
Issue Number: 
1&2
Photo of Executive Director Erika Monroe-Kane
From the Director
Making Home
By:
Erika Monroe-Kane

There is a spot in my house where I sit. I can look out at my neighbor’s garden and get a peek at Lake Monona, the lamp behind me hits my book just right, and there is a place to set my tea.
Photo of Magazine Editor Sandra Barnidge
Editors Note
Editors Note
By:
Sandra Barnidge

I’m always restless during the muddy awakening of fresh spring. I’ve become an avid gardener in recent years, and I love this seasonal transition between rest and renewal.
Photo of James Brady Foust in front of the sign for an art gallery he and his wife support
Happenings
In Memoriam: Brady Foust
By:
Brady Foust

Foust was an accomplished geographer, inventor, professor, and patron of arts who revolutionized insurance geospatial databases, patented new technology, served as a professor at UW–Eau Claire for thirty-seven years.
Photo of Paul Hsu and his son Will Hsu of Hsu Ginseng Enterprises
Wisconsin Table
Welcome To Wausau
By:
B.J. Hollars

As I pulled into the parking lot of Hsu’s Ginseng Enterprises, Inc., in rural Marathon County, I realized that I don’t know much about ginseng. Yet in Wausau, as I will soon learn, this gnarly white-root vegetable is king.
Photo of Brenda Cárdenas at home, photo by TJ Lambert, Stages Photography
Feature, Profile
The House That Language Built
By:
Sandra Barnidge

Once upon a time, a young girl lived in a bungalow in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee. At first glance, the girl’s house was modest, with a tan-brick exterior and cozy-sized rooms.
Midwest Linen Revival co-founder Leslie Schroeder harvests fresh flax from the Parisi Family Farm in Dane County. Photo by Zoe Schneberger
Essay
Smitten with Linen
By:
Jessica Becker

Prevailing wisdom and archaeological evidence suggest that we have been wearing clothes for a very long time.
Lake Mendota’s Picnic Point in 1960. George Gurda, via UW Digital Collections
Essay
First Earth Day
By:
Thomas Wayne King

The first international Earth Day celebrations were held in April 1970, and I experienced it at a 6:00 sunrise gathering at Picnic Point, on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison.
Katherine and Steve Freund, co-founders of The Tardigrade’s Bookshelf.
Essay
The Tardigrade’s Bookshelf
By:
Madison Buening

While searching for a location to open their dream bookstore in Appleton, an unconventional option caught the eyes of a married pair of veterans-turned-entrepreneurs.
Photo of Brenda Cárdenas at home, photo by TJ Lambert, Stages Photography
Feature, Profile
The House That Language Built
By:
Sandra Barnidge

Once upon a time, a young girl lived in a bungalow in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee. At first glance, the girl’s house was modest, with a tan-brick exterior and cozy-sized rooms.
Crop of Nina Ghanbarzadeh, People of Qajar era in my studio III, 2024, line drawing, gouache, and collage on paper mounted on wood panel
@ the Watrous Gallery
Tales of the Seated Cat
By:
Nina Ghanbarzadeh

Nina Ghanbarzadeh’s art practice is rooted in the desire to share the culture and history of Iran, where she was born.
Crop of Jon Horvath, Untitled (from Wide-Eyed), 2020, archival Inkjet print.
@ the Watrous Gallery
Wide-Eyed
By:
Jon Horvath

Begun when he was a graduate student, the “Wide-Eyed” series has held Horvath’s attention for more than two decades. Horvath describes it as “a response to my surroundings, grounded in a sense of wonder and awe.
Crop of Jerry Butler, Descendants of the Disenfranchised. Acrylic stained canvas on canvas.
@ the Watrous Gallery
Echoes From the Arc
By:
Jerry Butler

Butler’s exhibition at the Watrous Gallery is his response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous assertion that the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice.
Maureen Fritchen, Untitled [Pink Sheet #3], 2022-2023, polyethylene foam, diabetic needles. Wall mounted.
@ the Watrous Gallery
See Foam
By:
Maureen Fritchen

Stacks of bright pink and turquoise packing foam, unruly lengths of conduit, and piles of plastic needle caps—these materials are usually destined for the landfill. For Maureen Fritchen, they represent a precious resource.
Members of the Lake Superior Climate Champions Program take a field trip to an eroded area in northern Wisconsin. Karina Heim, Lake Superior Reserve
Initiatives Update
Strengthening Northern Wisconsin Against Extreme Weather
By:
Marie Zhuikov

Leaders in several northern Wisconsin communities are gaining more capacity to address climate change impacts thanks to the Lake Superior Climate Champions Program.
Read Wisconsin
Chasing the Stars
By:
James Lattis, Kelly Tyrrell

A new book from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press traces the history of the University of Wisconsin’s groundbreaking Washburn Observatory, where some of the world’s most cutting-edge astronomical inventions were born.
Image of beaded jewelry
Fiction
Baby Teeth
By:
C.E. Perry

Her decision to live on the porch happens accidentally but not unintentionally in June when the pink star magnolia in the front yard finally blooms. Every year she waits for the blossoms as big as her palm that smell like anise and oranges.
Crop of Kevon Harrold's album cover for Foreverland
Book Review
What Are You Reading?
By:
Faisal Abdu'Allah, Amy Quan Barry, Howard Fuller, Karen Ann Hoffman, Mrill Ingram, Marie Kohler, David Ullrich

This winter, we asked some of the newly inducted 2024 Academy Fellows to recommend books, documentaries, podcasts, records, or plays. Here’s the list of what’s currently inspiring Wisconsin’s most inspiring thought leaders.

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